According to a 1992 Helsinki Watch report there were three main groups of Roma in the former Czechoslovakia:

Slovak or Hungarian Romanies, who have settled in Slovakia since the 16th or 18th century or who migrated to Bohemia after World War II (ninety to ninety-five percent); Olach or Vlax Romanies, who are traditionally nomadic and speak a different dialect (five to ten percent); and Czech and Moravian Romanies, most of whom were exterminated during World War II (x; see also Guy 1975, 227).

One source states that Romani, the language of the Roma, "is derived from a number of popular idioms close to Sanskrit, and as a result it possesses numerous basic elements in common with Hindi, Nepali, Punjabi etc." (Liégeois 1994, 43). Another indicates that the Romani language has been greatly influenced by surrounding languages over the centuries, and as a result Romani dialects vary considerably (Katzner 1986, 107; State of the Peoples 1993, 200).

According to the twelfth edition of Ethnologue: Languages of the World, published in 1992, there were three Romani languages spoken in Czechoslovakia: Romani-Carpathian (also known as Bashaldo, Romungro, Hungarian-Slovak Romani), Romani-Sinte (also known as Rommanes, Sinte, Sinti, Tsigane) and Romani-Vlach (450; see also JPR Dec. 1996, 17; Guy 1975, 227). The thirteenth edition of Ethnologue, published in 1996, lists only two Romani languages as being spoken in the Czech Republic: Romani-Carpathian and Romani-Sinte (np). Please see the Ethnologue attachments for further details on these languages.

Statistics cited in Jean-Pierre Liégeois' 1994 Council of Europe publication Roma, Gypsies, Travellers indicate that 65 per cent of Czechoslovak Roma speak a Romani language (59). According to a Helsinki Watch report,

during the communist era the Romany language was forbidden in schools and ... government officials denied that Romany language, culture and traditions had any place in socialist society. The pressure upon Romanies to abandon their language and traditions has led to a dismal situation among the younger generation of Romanies in certain localities. In the Czech republic, a large part of the younger generation no longer speaks Romany (1992, 12; see also JPR Dec. 1996, 17).

The same report states, however, that since the 1989 velvet revolution "Romanies have quickly begun to reaffirm and develop their culture and language.... There has been a flowering of Romany literature and culture. The Romany language is in the process of transformation into a standardised written language" (Helsinki Watch 1992, 15; JPR Dec. 1996, 18; Nationalities Papers Winter 1991, 290). In both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Roma "are recognised as a minority and have formal political, cultural and educational organizations" (HRW June 1996, 4).

Sources report that Roma have tended to adopt the locally dominant religion as a survival tactic (Szajkowski 1993, 267; Fonseca 1995, 48; JPR Dec. 1996, 13). According to a 1991 Nationalities Papers article, most Czechoslovak Roma "profess to be Roman Catholics" (Winter 1991, 279).

Information on the customs of Czech Roma was scarce among the sources consulted. Please see pages 279-83 of the Nationalities Papers attachment for information on the religion and customs of Czechoslovak Roma, including information on marriage, religious holiday and funeral customs. For general information on Roma customs and traditions, please see the Szajkowski, JPR, Fonseca, and Liégeois attachments. The 1992 Helsinki Watch publication Struggling for Ethnic Identity: Czechoslovakia's Endangered Gypsies, available at Regional Documentation Centres, also contains information on the customs and traditions of Czechoslovak Roma.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below a list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 1996. 13th ed. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics. [Internet] [Accessed 28 July 1997]

_____. 1992. 12th ed. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

Fonseca, Isabel. 1996. Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Guy, Willy. 1975. "Ways of Looking at Roms," Gypsies, Tinkers and other Travellers. Edited by Farnham Rehfisch. London: Academic Press.

Helsinki Watch. 1992. Struggling for Ethnic Identity: Czechoslovakia's Endangered Gypsies. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. June 1996. Roma in the Czech Republic: Foreigners in Their Own Land. New York: Human Rights Watch/Helsinki.

Jewish Policy Research (JPR)/Policy Paper [London]. December 1996. No. 3. Margaret Brearley. "The Roma/Gypsies of Europe: A Persecuted People."

Katzner, Kenneth. 1986. The Languages of the World. London: Routledge.

Liégeois, Jean-Pierre. 1994. Roma, Gypsies, Travellers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Press.

Nationalities Papers [New York]. Winter 1991. Vol. 19, No. 3. Josef Kalvoda. "The Gypsies of Czechoslovakia."

State of the Peoples: A Global Human Rights Report on Societies in Danger. 1993. Boston: Beacon Press.

Szajkowski, Bogdan. 1993. Encyclopaedia of Conflicts, Disputes and Flashpoints in Eastern Europe, Russia and the Successor States. London: Longman Current Affairs.

Attachments

Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 1996. 13th ed. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics. [Internet] [Accessed 28 July 1997]

_____. 1992. 12th ed. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics, pp. 449-50.

Fonseca, Isabel. 1996. Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, pp. 48, 106-07.

Jewish Policy Research (JPR)/Policy Paper [London]. December 1996. No. 3. Margaret Brearley. "The Roma/Gypsies of Europe: A Persecuted People," pp. 13, 17-20.

Liégeois, Jean-Pierre. 1994. Roma, Gypsies, Travellers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Press, pp. 43-47, 56-59, 109-17.

Nationalities Papers [New York]. Winter 1991. Vol. 19, No. 3. Josef Kalvoda. "The Gypsies of Czechoslovakia," pp. 269, 279-83.

Szajkowski, Bogdan. 1993. Encyclopaedia of Conflicts, Disputes and Flashpoints in Eastern Europe, Russia and the Successor States. London: Longman Current Affairs.

Additional Sources Consulted

Czechoslovakia: A Country Study. 1989.

DIRB Country File on the Czech Republic.
Minority Rights Group International. 1995.

Roma/Gypsies: A European Minority.

_____. 1990.

The World Directory of Minorities.

_____. February 1987.

Roma: Europe's Gypsies.

_____. 1980.

World Minorities in the 1980s.

News from Helsinki Watch [London]. 1996.
Sellier, André and Jean Sellier. 1991.

Atlas des Peuples D'Europe Central.

Transition: Events and Issues in the Former Soviet Union and Central and Southeastern Europe [Prague]. January 1995-June 1997.